When the sports car rolled down the frontstretch past the 14 previous Corvette’s to pace the field, it was the first time Boles saw the car in person.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I haven’t even seen a photo of it, so I’ve seen all the renderings of how the color was going to look and the graphics. It just looks really impressive. It’s a super car, and I’m pretty fired up about it.”

The car features a track performance package and a tall rear spoiler, boasts 755 horsepower, can go 0-60 in 2.85 seconds and has a top speed of 212 mph. The pace car will go in the IMS museum after the race, and the winner of the Indianapolis 500 will get a replica of the car.

Chew said the process of choosing this car started over a year ago. Boles gets a first look when the two meet at the NASCAR awards ceremony in Las Vegas in December, and at the Daytona 500, a rendering is ready for Boles to see.

Chew said Chevrolet sees the race as an opportunity to promote new cars or features it has, which leads into the long preparation.

“It’s a long term planning process, knowing what we’ve got coming down the pipeline: new and exciting products,” he said. “We want to showcase our newest, most exciting product that we can to all the fans that come here. It’s a long process, but when it comes out the other end, the cars are pretty breathtaking.”

Boles said the pace car announcement starts six weeks of activation in preparation for the 102nd Indy 500. Next on his list of announcements will be the driver of the pace car, National Anthem singer and other celebrities planning to attend the race.

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